PROFILE
After two years of instability, the River Raiders have gone back to the drawing board in 2023 – with the return of a favourite son the first brick in the tri-colours rebuild.
With three senior coaches going through the doors in the past two seasons, Koondrook-Barham are confident they finally have their man, with Will Callow answering the SOS to help turn around the fortunes of his junior club. Callow returns with an impressive coaching resume, with three premierships as a coach of Irymple and Wandella to his name, among a long list of achievements.
After finishing tenth on the ladder and with just two wins and one draw from sixteen games last season, Callow and his team go into the new season knowing the scale of the task at hand. But after a major list overhaul across the pre-season, and a lot of work on the track, the Raiders new coach is bullish about what the future holds for his young side.
“We’ll have a pretty young list this year, so finding that consistent brand of footy will be paramount for us,” Callow said.
“This season is all about stability and getting the kids back enjoying their football and being the best version of themselves – we want to develop a football program that enables those talented kids to thrive both on and off the field.”
“We’ve got a group a people, both committee and coaching staff, that are hellbent of having success – we’re realistic and open minded as to how long it might take, but we have processes in place now that will enable us to have sustained success.”
While Koondrook-Barham’s off-field team has undergone significant change, so too has their playing list. Gone are the Iudica brothers, Jordan and Lucas, Jaryd Wishart, Max Baldissera and talented youngsters Jake Dick-O’Flaherty and Jack Shannon – with the latter trying his luck with Geelong’s VFL program.
Callow has brought reinforcements – and while the Raiders squad will have a significantly different look about it, the quality of the arrivals certainly appears to outweigh that of the departures at first glance. The Raiders have strengthened their midfield, which was one area of major concern last year, with former Wandella premiership player Cameron Moore set to join Dom Cirilo and former Williamstown VFL midfielder James Flack.
Also returning will be former locals Corey Barrington and Harley Burmeister to add depth around the ground, while perhaps the biggest inclusion could be assistant coach Bill Barry, whose versatility could see him deployed in the midfield, defence, or attack for his new club.
While their squad for the new season is now settled, Koondrook-Barham are still very much a work in progress, with their new coach keen for the season to start so he can assess exactly what he has to work with.
“I think we’ll have a bit of an evolving game style – not least because we just don’t know how the team will gel together at this stage until we actually get out on the park,” Callow said.
“You have to be pretty open minded and you can’t think you can just turn up and play the way you want to play every week, because the reality is the opposition are trying to do the same thing and implement the way they like to play, too.”
“I like to have a lot of versatility within the team in order to combat any curve balls that are thrown at us – but we’ll be trying to find our own game plan as a unit, develop ourselves and put it on the group to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.”
FROM THE COACH
“We’re under no illusions where we sit, but our aim this year is really about developing the kids and giving them the stability required to be successful. We’ve managed to put together a really talented playing list and I’ve got no doubt we’ll be much more competitive and win our fair share of games along the way.”
INs & OUTs
INs
Cameron Moore (Mount Pleasant)
Corey Barrington (Picola United)
Harley Burmeister (Doveton)
Bill Barry (Tweed Coast AFC)
Scott Wood (Donald)
Domenico Cirillo (Old Scotch)
James Flack (Irymple)
Mitch Christensen (Huntly)
OUTs
Jake Dick-O’Flaherty (Deniliquin)
Jack Shannon (Geelong VFL – St.Mary’s)
Jordan Iudica (Kyneton)
Lucas Iudica (Kyneton)
Jarryd Wishart (Pyramid Hill)
Jasper Wilson-Keir (Leitchville-Gunbower)
Blake Watts (Murrabit)
Zak Hard (Murrabit)
Ryan Manning (Murrabit)
Morgan Randall (Murrabit)
Ned Mathers (Seymour)
Max Baldissera
Josh Hale
Bailey Laursen
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023
While there’s definitely an air of excitement around Koondrook-Barham with the arrival of a new coach and a huge overhaul of their playing list – it’s still very hard to see them playing finals this season. An extremely difficult start to the season is only set compound their problems, with the Raiders fixtured to play all five finalists from 2022 in the opening seven rounds of the season, as well as NNW United and Balranald – the two teams who have recruited best of those outside last year’s top five. While Kye Attwell and Clay Davis remain, losing Jack Shannon and Jake Dick-O’Flaherty – both talented young locals – will really hurt the Raiders going forward. With this in mind, 2023 needs to be about improvement and giving the next generation of Koondrook-Barham footballers hope that brighter days are on the horizon.
KEY PLAYER
Pat Goble
Has been a key member of the Raiders on-ball division for a number of seasons, as both an inside and outside midfielder. Had an injury-interrupted season in 2022, but after a solid pre-season looks set to return to his most consistent and explosive best. The midfield will be an area of great focus for Koondrook-Barham, with a number of quality recruits set to bolster their depth – and Goble is still likely to be a major contributor to this in the Raiders engine room.
BIG IMPROVER
Kye Attwell
The spring-heeled Attwell will be one to watch for the Raiders, with his contested marking ability a constant threat for opposition teams. If Koondrook-Barham are going to be successful this season, it needs to be their young key forward who sets the tone for the team and provides a strong target. Should have more opportunities to hit the scoreboard this season with a more consistent supply from the midfield and in turn give him a greater opportunity to have that breakout season he’s been promising to have.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Will the climb back up the ladder be a slow one – or will the Raiders bounce back quickly?
Following their last two disastrous campaigns, the focus for Koondrook-Barham needs to be on rebuilding their team from the ground up. There’s no doubt that they now have the right man at the helm – but there can be no shortcuts, especially with depth within their senior squad likely to be an issue. Regardless, they should still be competitive and push most sides – but in terms of sustainability for the club going forward, youth development needs to be the main focus.
KOONDROOK-BARHAM PREDICTED BEST 22
B. Harley Burmeister – Scott Wood – Colin McVeigh
HB. Cameron Moore – Reagan Hamilton – Jack Thrum
C. Clay Davis – James Flack – Kade Watts
HF. Corey Barrington – Kye Attwell – Bill Barry
F. Jordan Bassett – Mitch Christensen – Dominic Dick-O’Flaherty
R. Jacob Barrington – Dom Cirillo – Pat Goble
INT. Tom Amor – Josh McMahon – Chester Gardner – Matthew Dean
